Thursday, March 25, 2010

Main Entry: old schoolFunction: adjectiveDate: 18031 : adhering to traditional policies or practices2 : characteristic or evocative of an earlier or original style, manner, or form3 : Halloween decorations/displays that make you long for cold October evenings and a pillowcase loaded with candy.

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I go on and on about Old School Halloween decorations and yard haunts. Was thinking about it some more today after I clicked on one of my "old school" tags in an earlier blog post. It seems Old School is all about white sheets and thick rubber masks and primary colors and ill-shapen figures. It's about traditional pumpkin faces and plastic decorations and headless dummies in chairs.

I practically worship the ways of Old School. It reminds me of my distant trick-or-treating days. The style is almost hasty and last-minute. It's often cluttered and overloaded. And it's beautiful. It's the watercolor of Halloween, with washed-out pigments and crude arrangements. Old School is about spook houses in garages and sound effects from bushes. It's about making Halloween fun. And making it spooky.

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Back in the mid 70s I set up a little display at my parent's House in the front porch. I had an old record player playing Disney's Haunted House Soundtrack. I would have to go out and flip the record every 30 minutes.